HK1135748A - Insulating window incorporating photovoltaic cells and a pressure equalization system - Google Patents

Description

Isolation window incorporating photovoltaic cells and pressure equalization system

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to window structures and, more particularly, to window structures including photovoltaic panels.

Background

Windows or glass areas have significant disadvantages in insulation solutions for buildings in hot or cold climates. Known basic insulating windows are constructed from two pieces of glass in a rigid frame. The air space between the two panes provides thermal insulation.

When the photovoltaic cell is disposed between two pieces of glass, the air trapped between the insulating glass cells is heated, which causes the seal to fail prematurely. U.S. patent US4,137,098 to Gillard discloses a photovoltaic cell enclosed between two panes of glass in a window housing that is cooled by a forced air system. U.S. patent US5,128,181 to Kunert discloses a photovoltaic cell enclosed between two pieces of glass in a window housing, wherein excess solar radiation is dissipated outwardly by convection. U.S. patent US5,221,363 to Gillard discloses a photovoltaic cell enclosed between two panes of glass in a window housing with a valve so that excess heat can be removed by convection. However, if the remaining air is vented, condensation can occur when the window cools and air re-enters the unit, which can destroy the transparency of the window unit.

There is therefore a need in the art for an insulating glass unit window structure that includes photovoltaic cells and alleviates the problems posed by the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to a pressure compensated thermal insulating window including a photovoltaic cell. Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention comprises an insulating window comprising:

(a) a pair of glass panes defining an air space therebetween;

(b) a spacer member disposed between the glass panes, the spacer member maintaining the glass panes in a spaced apart relationship;

(c) at least one photovoltaic cell disposed between the glass panes; and

(d) a window frame surrounding the periphery of the window, wherein the window frame comprises duct means for providing gas communication through the window frame to said air space.

In one embodiment, the conduit means comprises a desiccant.

In another embodiment, the window frame encloses an interior space and includes access means.

Drawings

The present invention will now be described by way of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying simplified, diagrammatic, non-to-scale drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a thermal window incorporating a photovoltaic cell and a schematic representation of electrical connections;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the window of FIG. 1 (photovoltaic cell not shown) showing the interior space enclosed by the window frame and the access device; and is

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of fig. 2.

Detailed Description

The invention provides an energy-efficient and heat-insulating window design. When describing the present invention, all terms not defined herein have their ordinary technical meanings.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a photovoltaic cell 2 mounted to the inner surface of an outer glass pane 12 and a schematic representation of electrical connections 4.

Fig. 2 and 3 illustrate an insulating window having a pressure equalization system as described in commonly owned canadian patent application 2,507,108, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Figure 2 shows a view of a window unit comprising double glazing panes 10, 12 and a window frame 14.

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of glass panes 10, 12 spaced apart by spacer 16 and held together by window frame 14.

The window frame includes an outer channel member 18, an inner channel member 20, and a double-layer intermediate webbing member 22 connecting the inner and outer channel members together. The interior channel member may include a mounting flange 24, which mounting flange 24 projects outwardly and will abut a window side wall (not shown) when installed in a wall frame. A removable desiccant concealing member 26 is attached to the inner channel member 20 opposite a mounting flange 24. the mounting flange 24 is used to retain the glass unit, but does not serve any other structural function. The desiccant concealing member 26 is tubular defining a single elongated channel 28. One edge of the channel defines a first lip 30 and the other edge of the channel defines a second lip 32. The two lips 30, 32 mate with corresponding grooves 31, 33 formed in the inner channel member 20. The glass faces are positioned and held by elastomeric seals 34, 36, 38. Seal 34 is connected to outer channel member 18 and seal 36 is connected to inner channel member 20. An air seal 38 is connected to the desiccant concealing member 26. The seal is preferably formed of a material having low thermal conductivity and being relatively impermeable to moisture, such as chloroprene rubber, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) or silicone rubber.

In a preferred embodiment, a dual desiccant system is used. The baffle 16 is a hollow rectangular member filled with a suitable desiccant 40. The spacer defines air holes that allow air to circulate between the air space between the glass panes 10, 12 and the interior volume of the spacer 16 containing the desiccant. In addition, a small conduit 42 connects the interior space of the partition to a sealed tube 44 within the desiccant concealing member 26 filled with desiccant 40. The sealed tube 44 has a cap 46 that receives the conduit 42, thereby providing gas communication between the interior volume of the baffle and the desiccant tube 44.

It will be apparent that the desiccant concealing member 26 may be removed from the window frame 14 by disengaging the lips 30, 32 from the inner channel member 20, thereby exposing the desiccant tube 44. The desiccant tube 44 can then be easily disconnected from the conduit 42 and replaced with a new desiccant tube if necessary. In an alternative embodiment, the desiccant in the desiccant tubes may be different from the desiccant contained in the baffle, and the desiccant in the desiccant tubes has a higher hydrophilicity than the desiccant in the baffle. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, air drawn into the air space must pass through the replaceable desiccant tube in order to maintain a dry environment within the window unit.

The desiccant tubes 44 may be placed in any orientation in one, two, three, or all four of the desiccant concealing members 26.

The outer, intermediate and inner channel members, including the window frame 14, may be formed of a thermoplastic having a low thermal conductivity, such as polyvinyl chloride or polyamide. Alternatively, the inner and outer channel members may be metallic members such as aluminum, while the intermediate member is non-metallic, thereby avoiding thermal bridging therebetween. The desiccant concealing member may be any suitable material such as metal or plastic and is preferably resilient to facilitate its installation and removal from the inner channel member.

The solar cell or photovoltaic cell 2 is a semiconductor device consisting of a large area p-n junction diode, which is capable of generating usable electrical energy in the presence of sunlight. Any suitable type of photovoltaic cell 2 may be used in the window described herein. For example, silicon, calcium sulfide, gallium arsenide, and any other type of battery are suitable. The cell may be of any desired shape such as square, circular, etc.

The photovoltaic cell may be any suitable cell such as a crystal wafer or thin film cell. As an alternative to using a crystal photovoltaic cell wafer, it is also possible to usePhotovoltaic laminated glass is manufactured using thin film solar Photovoltaic (PV) cells. The fabrication of thin film solar cells involves the deposition of very thin, continuous atomic, molecular, or ionic layers of semiconductor materials, such as amorphous silicon, copper indium diselenide, or cadmium telluride, on low cost substrates such as glass, metal, or plastic. Thin film cells have certain advantages over crystalline solar cell wafer technology. They use less material and the active area of the cell is typically only 1 to 10 microns thick, whereas a conventional wafer is as much as 200 to 400 microns thick. Thin film batteries are also typically amenable to large area fabrication (1 m)²Above) and is suitable for automation, mass production, arrangement and packaging. They can also be deposited on flexible substrate materials.

In one embodiment, the photovoltaic cells 2 are placed between two glass panes of glass 10, 12 as a photovoltaic laminate, with the photovoltaic cells laminated between two glass panes. In conventional laminated glass products, one sheet of glass is bonded to one layer of a polymeric film laminate and another sheet or layer of material is bonded to the other side of the film laminate such that the film laminate is sandwiched between two outer layers. A number of methods are known for producing such laminates, see for example us patent nos.: 5,268,049, respectively; 5,118,371, respectively; 4,724,023, respectively; 4,234,533, and 4,125,669. Laminated glass is generally produced through the following steps: wherein a stack of at least two sheets of glass, having a plastic film, usually a plasticized polyvinyl butyral (PVB) film, called an intermediate film or laminated film, is sandwiched between each pair of adjacent sheets of glass subjected to evacuation, pressing and heating.

The photovoltaic cells 2 are typically electrically connected in a series circuit with the electrical wires 4 to obtain the desired voltage, and the series circuit of a plurality of photovoltaic cells can then be connected in parallel if desired. The electrical energy can then be sent from the plus (+) and minus (-) terminals through electrical wires 4 to a power control or other suitable distribution device 6. Such conventional circuitry to the main power bus more preferably includes an insulator. As is well known in the art, an inverter will be used to generate an Alternating Current (AC) from the Direct Current (DC) produced by the photovoltaic cells. Preferably, a plurality of photovoltaic cells are grouped in parallel to boost the voltage, and each group is provided with a three pole off DC switch and inverter, then the AC current is passed to a 208 volt switchboard.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, adaptations, and variations can be made to the specific disclosure described above without departing from the scope of the invention claimed herein. The various features and elements of the described invention may be combined in different combinations than those described or claimed herein without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (13)

1. A thermal window, comprising:

(a) a pair of glass panes defining an interior air space therebetween;

(b) a spacer member disposed between the glass panes, the spacer member maintaining the glass panes in a spaced apart relationship;

(c) at least one photovoltaic cell disposed between the glass panes; and

(d) a window frame surrounding the periphery of the window, wherein the window frame comprises duct means for providing gas communication through the window frame to said air space.

2. The thermal window of claim 1 wherein said conduit means comprises a desiccant.

3. The thermal window of claim 1 or 2 wherein said at least one photovoltaic cell is laminated to one of said glass panes.

4. A thermal window according to any one of claims 1-3 wherein said window frame encloses an interior space and includes access means to said interior space through said window frame.

5. The thermal window of claim 1 or 2 wherein the spacer member defines an interior volume in gaseous communication with the air space between the panes of glass, and further comprising a desiccant disposed within the interior volume.

6. The thermal window of claim 5 wherein said at least one photovoltaic cell is electrically connected to a three-pole disconnect dc switch and an inverter.

7. A thermal window comprising:

(a) a pair of glass panes defining an air space therebetween and having photovoltaic cells disposed within the air space;

(b) a spacer member disposed between the glass panes, the spacer member maintaining the glass panes in a spaced apart relationship, the spacer member being hollow and defining an opening allowing gaseous communication between the air space and an interior volume of the spacer member;

(c) a desiccant material contained within the spacing member; and

(d) a sash surrounding a perimeter of the window, wherein the sash comprises:

(i) at least one desiccant concealing member that is hollow and removable from the window frame;

(ii) a desiccant cartridge removably disposed within the desiccant concealing member, an

(iii) Conduit means for providing gaseous communication between the air space and the desiccant cartridge.

8. The window of claim 7 wherein the conduit means provides gas communication between the interior space of the spacer member and the desiccant cartridge.

9. The window of claim 7 wherein the desiccant cartridge comprises an elongated cylindrical tube.

10. The window of claim 7 wherein the desiccant concealing member is elongated and has a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape.

11. The window of claim 10 wherein the cross-sectional shape comprises two linear segments joined together at substantially right angles.

12. The window of claim 7 wherein the window frame comprises an outer channel member, an inner channel member, and a web member disposed between the outer and inner channel members, wherein the desiccant concealing member is removably attached to the inner channel member.

13. The window of claim 10 wherein the desiccant concealing member is constructed of an elastomeric material and includes first and second lips that respectively engage undercut grooves in the inner channel member.